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Introduction 
Tiruvannamalai is one of the
greatest Saivite shrines in India, on a sprawling 24 acre
temple campus, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every full
moon. The hill here is considered to be a manifestation of Shiva.
History
The history of this town dates from
the early Chola period i.e. the period of Aditya I and Parantaka I
(A.D. 871-955) when the Chola empire had expanded northwards to
include practically the wholes of Tondaimandalam. The inscriptions
of Kopperunjinga clearly show that by the second quarter of the 13th
century, the Kadavarayas had established complete mastery over this
region leading to the final decline of Chola power. A brief period
of Pandya supremacy over this region is indicated by the
inscriptions of the Pandyas of the second empire such as Jatavaraman
Srivallabha and Tribhuvanachakravartin Kulasekhara in the 13th
century. After Nayak rule, this region seems to have gradually
passed into British hands.
Festival
The festivals celebrated in Tiruvannamalai
are :-
Pongal :-
This 3-day harvest festival is one of the major events in South
India. Pongal is celebrated to mark not only the reaping of harvest
but also the withdrawal of the southeast monsoon. Here pongal is
known as Jallikattu and bundles of money are tied to the horns of
bulls and people try to snatch the bundles from them. Community
meals are made from the freshly gathered harvests and enjoyed by the
entire village.
Karthigai Deepam :-
Devotees walk round the hill and worship the Bharani Deepam.
The deepam is lit in a gigantic, circular metal vessel that can hold
about 2000litres of ghee. It is five and half feet in height
and five feet in diameter. For making the wick, 30 meters of
ghada cloth is used and is burnt with 2 kilos of camphor on the
night of Karthigai Pournami. The jothi can be sighted from
nearly 10km around.
Best Season
Travel Links of Tiruvannamalai
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